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Short of being great
My experience with this perfume was realizing how our big expectations and falling into hype can be a double-edged sword. I love how the blend is done expertly and how this composition successfully encapsulates the contrasts of a great workplace and night-out fragrance. It is one of those scents that should be sampled before buying since it does not possess compliment-getting qualities like Aventus. Since it is priced in the same way as better offerings from Creed, I realize why it became a lukewarm release and disappointed some fragrance enthusiasts.
TOP NOTES
The opening of this fragrance is just beautiful. This composition is classic and modern, ideal for more mature men.
I adore this combination of citruses and powerful mint, which reminds me of that one in Acqua di Parma’s Club Colonia. It is a masculine blend that thankfully takes a step in another direction by ditching ambergris for something completely new, which was a bold move from the brand if we consider what came before it.
HEART NOTES
As soon as the heart notes start to kick in, the clove note starts to overtake the composition. I love cloves, which is evident in the fact that Frederic Malle’s Musc Ravageur is my favourite fragrance. Let this serve as a warning before you buy this product. It is not for everyone, and the clove blend here comes entirely naturally, just as if you were to open a new bag of this spice. For better or worse, the allspice mix gets even more intense in this stage, accompanied by the pepper in the opening. For me, this is great, but this is where Viking starts to remind me of Old Spice cologne, but it is on a much higher execution level.
BASE NOTES
Lavender dominates the base, along with white musk, woods, and residues of the more robust notes from the opening and middle stages. Even if I understand the inspiration behind this creation, including something like chocolate patchouli in a vein found in Jovoy’s Incident Diplomatique, it could have made this masterpiece. It just feels like something is missing in the base, and excluding ambergris from this composition was a great decision since it wouldn’t work here; there should have been more in the base.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Does this one have the potential to become a classic in the future? Probably not in the broader aspect of things, and it is one of those products at risk of being discontinued in the future and getting a cult status in collectors circles. Nonetheless, it is good enough for me to keep it until I use the whole bottle, and it is a more exciting release than Original Santal.
Read the full review at scentgrail.com
TOP NOTES
The opening of this fragrance is just beautiful. This composition is classic and modern, ideal for more mature men.
I adore this combination of citruses and powerful mint, which reminds me of that one in Acqua di Parma’s Club Colonia. It is a masculine blend that thankfully takes a step in another direction by ditching ambergris for something completely new, which was a bold move from the brand if we consider what came before it.
HEART NOTES
As soon as the heart notes start to kick in, the clove note starts to overtake the composition. I love cloves, which is evident in the fact that Frederic Malle’s Musc Ravageur is my favourite fragrance. Let this serve as a warning before you buy this product. It is not for everyone, and the clove blend here comes entirely naturally, just as if you were to open a new bag of this spice. For better or worse, the allspice mix gets even more intense in this stage, accompanied by the pepper in the opening. For me, this is great, but this is where Viking starts to remind me of Old Spice cologne, but it is on a much higher execution level.
BASE NOTES
Lavender dominates the base, along with white musk, woods, and residues of the more robust notes from the opening and middle stages. Even if I understand the inspiration behind this creation, including something like chocolate patchouli in a vein found in Jovoy’s Incident Diplomatique, it could have made this masterpiece. It just feels like something is missing in the base, and excluding ambergris from this composition was a great decision since it wouldn’t work here; there should have been more in the base.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Does this one have the potential to become a classic in the future? Probably not in the broader aspect of things, and it is one of those products at risk of being discontinued in the future and getting a cult status in collectors circles. Nonetheless, it is good enough for me to keep it until I use the whole bottle, and it is a more exciting release than Original Santal.
Read the full review at scentgrail.com
ScentGrail
